I wanna hold your hand
by emeralddragonchild
Summary: Jude's drawing again. And its not Lucy.


A/N: So I watched this movie and it was trippy and awesome, but I kept thinking Max and Jude should end up together and my sister-in-law kept saying the same thing and my resolve… broke. So, I wrote this.

"Hey," Lucy breathed, coming up behind him. Her breath was hot against the back of his neck, brushing against his ear. He quickly shifted his work, hiding it from view. He could feel her pull back, hurt.

"It's not done." Jude tried to explain, though he had no intention of ever sharing it. It would join the mess of papers hidden away from prying eyes, never to be seen again.

Lucy rolled her eyes, "You never cared if they were finished before."

"That was before." Jude muttered, standing up and heading toward the door.

"Where yah goin?"

Jude shrugged. "Thought I'd go see Max."

"You spent all night over there," Lucy complained, grabbing his hand. She pressed herself up against him, kissing his neck. "I thought we'd… spend some time together."

Max slipped away from her. "I just… don't want to leave Max alone with his head."

Lucy's jaw clenched and she turned on heel, stomping into the other room. Jude sighed and left, grabbing his jacket as he went. Lucy peered around the corner, her curiosity getting the better of her. She slipped the drawing Jude had been working on out from beneath blank canvas. She looked down at it and gasped, her hand flying up to cover her mouth.

It was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen… And it broke her heart.

"Max?"

"Hey, Jude."

Jude stepped further into the room, eyes searching out his blonde friend. He found him sitting on the edge of the windowsill, gazing out. "Whatcha doing?"

"Watching the world. I remember it being… brighter."

"It was once… But we can make it bright again."

Max smiled, looking over at the Brit. "You always make things brighter, Jude. It's what you do."

Jude sighed, finding a place to sit down. "I can't brighten anything for Lucy. It feels… stagnate."

"Ah, Jude… Trouble in paradise?"

"It hasn't been right… Not since I left."

"Give it time."

"We were never about time. We surpassed time. I think that's the problem. We're too different."

"Yah, maybe. I lied, you know. She couldn't do better than you, Jude. There is no better than you. Never let anyone tell you otherwise."

Jude's mouth twisted into a smile. "Yah? Thanks. I started drawing again."

"That's great, man." Max grinned, moving to sit next to him, clapping his hand onto the other's shoulder. "Lucy?"

Jude shook his head. "No… I found other inspiration."

"Oh?"

"Yah. Maybe I'll show you sometime."

Max smiled. "I'd like that… Hey… You remember playing golf?"

Jude grinned, "Yah… Good times."

"Well, they're not over yet, baby. Come on, let's go."

"Go where?"

"Memory lane."

Jude was drunk and high and stumbling when he fell through the door of his flat. He giggled, tripping over his feet as he tried to make it into bed.

"Jude."

He twirled quickly, too quickly, and fell onto his ass. He looked up, grinning stupidly. "Lucy!"

Lucy shook her head in disgust. "Look at you. This is what you do, instead of being with me."

"Can't be with you anymore, Lucy. Nothing there. It's left me. It's left you. We floated away and carried away and blew away into dust."

"I know… I… I looked, Jude. I saw and I'm sorry. I wish I hadn't, I wish I could still be blind." Lucy muttered, holding up the picture and unfolding it for Jude to see. "And I found the others. You hid them well; took me a while."

Jude reached out, smiling as his fingers brushed the canvas. "Max…"

"You love him like you loved me?"

"Love him like I could never love you. Love him like it hurts."

Lucy nodded. She kissed his cheek and led Jude to bed. "Sleep, Jude."

"Night, Lucy."

"Bye, Jude."

"Max!" Lucy shouted as she let herself into Max's apartment. He jerked, tumbling off his couch and then peering up at his sister.

"Luce… What'cha need?"

"Don't hurt him, Max. God, please don't hurt him because I still love him."

"What are you talking about?"

"Jude!"

Max blinked, his eyes glazed as he struggled to bring his head back down from the clouds. "Jude? What about Jude?"

"He's in love with you!"

Max started to laugh before he realized she was being completely serious. "What? No… Jude's in love with you. Jude's always been in love with you."

"Not anymore." Lucy sighed, handing him Jude's sketch.

Max stared. It was him. Him, perfectly captured with loving detail even though it was clearly unfinished. The eyes… they were so carefully done, every stoke and every line precisely planned in a manner he'd never seen in any of Jude's other work.

"He's never drawn me in such a way." Lucy whispered, "This is how I always dreamed he'd draw me… but he never did."

"That doesn't mean he doesn't love you, Luce… You can't offer me this. You can't offer me this because I'll let myself want it and I can't want it."

"Why not? He wants you, Max… I just want him to be happy."

"I never make anyone happy."

"You've always made him happy."

Max sighed and dragged his hands through his hair.

"Tell me you don't love him to." Lucy said softly, meeting her brother's eyes.

"I can't."

"Hey, Jude."

"Max?"

"Yah."

"What're you doin' here?"

Max laughed softly and crawled into bed beside Jude, lying with his hands folded beneath his head. Jude shifted onto his side, staring down at Max is confusion.

"Lucy came to see me last night."

"I was wonderin' where she was."

"She's going back home… New York's gotten too big for her."

Jude sat up quickly. "She left?"

"She found the pictures, Jude… She said you talked about this."

Jude blinked as the night before came back to him. "Oh… Oh, God. What'd she tell you?"

"A lot of things."

"Yah?"

"Yah."

"Like what?"

"Do you love me, Jude? Because it's not enough for her to say it. I need you to say it."

"Why? Do you love me?"

"Take a chance, Jude. Jump."

Jude took a deep breath.

"I love you, Max."

Max let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding.

And then kissed the boy he'd fallen for back on the grounds of an Ivy League school.


End file.
